US Congress approves $600m for Israel’s Iron Dome

Both American Houses of Congress have approved defence authorisation bill which includes more than $600 million in support for Israeli defence systems, including Iron Dome and anti-tunnel operations, Quds Press reported yesterday.

The Israeli newspaper Times of Israel said that the deal is pending the signature of the American President Barack Obama.

American mass media reported that the Senate passed the bill by a margin of 92-7 after the House of Representatives approved it 375-34.

In a press release, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) hailed American approval of the bill. “AIPAC commends Congress for strongly bolstering US-Israel defence cooperation by authorising a total of $600.7 million for US-Israel missile defence cooperation,” a statement said.

In September, this year, the US and Israel reached an “unprecedented” deal stipulated that the former pays the latter a sum of $38 billion over ten years in military aids.

The deal was approved by the US on condition that Israel pledges not to request additional military assistance for ten years.

According to the Times of Israel, the defence system is not part of the $38 million deal reached in September.